East Tennessee State University
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East Tennessee State University is an accredited university operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents with its principal campus in Johnson City, Tennessee. It began as a normal school to educate teachers and was subsequently expanded into a college with a large range of liberal arts offerings, and developed into a full university in the 1960s. Graduate programs include a fully accredited medical school, the Quillen College of Medicine, named in honor of U.S. Congressman James H. Quillen who successfully fought for its creation in the 1970s.
Athletic teams, nicknamed the Buccaneers, compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference. Despite the presence of a small (seating capacity for football approximately 13,000) domed stadium (the Mini-Dome) on campus, the football program was discontinued after the 2003 season as a cost-cutting measure. As a result, the university will leave the Southern Conference in 2005 for the Atlantic Sun Conference.